Volume 3, Chapter 86 – Adding Insult to Injury

Can Abyssal Demons fly?

Regarding this question, most powers on the Ancheka Continent shared a consensus. That was, except for a small portion of Abyssal Demons with innate flight capabilities and special existences above the seventh tier, the vast majority of Abyssal Demons could not fly. It was not surprising they held such a belief.

For the past few centuries, every Abyssal Demon invasion had, without exception, involved swarms of them rushing forward from the ground. Attacks from the sky were extremely rare. Consequently, many “experts” judged that since there were no flying races within the Deepwinter Forest, any Abyssal Demons born from it naturally lacked the ability to fly.

However, did Abyssal Demons really only rely on ground charges?

The answer was, naturally, no.

Strictly speaking, there were plenty of avian magical beasts and wyvern-type magical beasts in the depths of the Deepwinter Forest. In addition to high-tier Abyssal Demons, Miss Yumo had already stocked up a significant number of Abyssal Demons with flight capabilities within the forest. The reason she rarely deployed this “air force” was primarily out of consideration for human society.

The human world of several centuries ago had been severely weakened after the failure of the first crusade. Back then, humans found it difficult enough to withstand the ordinary Abyssal Demons attacking from the ground, let alone fighting those in the sky. To prevent humanity from losing all hope of survival and stop them from giving up and retreating into underground fortresses, Yumo had restricted the deployment of flying Abyssal Demons.

In this way, the primary focus of the major human powers shifted toward constructing city walls, allowing the cities behind those walls to develop in relative peace.

Even when Miss Yumo occasionally sent Abyssal Demons to harass them, she followed the humans’ expectations by attacking the most heavily fortified border military fortresses. Even if she occasionally sent some flying Abyssal Demons, the numbers were not large; the human Griffin Knights and those flying saint tier experts were enough to handle them.

…

Over time, the concept that most Abyssal Demons could not fly seemed to take deep root in the human world.

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Because of this, when the swarm of Abyssal Demons, large enough to trigger anyone’s trypophobia, suddenly appeared in the sky and blotted out the sun, not only Xue Tian’ao, but also those from the Ashurmos Church, the Holy Tower, the Red Lotus Leaf Empire, and other factions revealed expressions of utter shock.

As for the citizens within the city, they were scared out of their wits when they saw the black mass of Abyssal Demons attacking from the sky. Panic spread through the crowd as rapidly as a virus. The city began to fall into chaos as people scrambled and raced toward the south of Sky Dome, attempting to flee through the southern gate.

Of course, the most panicked and uneasy were the Griffin Knights in the sky and the pilots of the steel airships, for they were the first ones to come into contact with the swarm.

They were also the first victims.

As expected, the swarm of Abyssal Demons immediately launched a brutal assault on the Griffin Knights. Most of these Abyssal Demons had been placed in a deep slumber by Yumo in the heart of the forest. Now that they had finally awakened, their innate tyranny naturally sought an outlet.

“Boom!!”

Accompanied by a cathartic explosion of black Shadow Essence, a storm of blood and gore instantly swept through the sky. The number of Griffin Knights was already small, and there were only about three hundred guarding the steel airships. In the past, this would have been enough to deal with a small number of flying Abyssal Demons.

But now? Facing a siege of nearly a hundred thousand Abyssal Demons, the fate of these three hundred Griffin Knights could well be imagined.

Amidst waves of piercing wails, the Griffin Knights and their mounts were torn to shreds and devoured by the famished Abyssal Demon swarm before they could offer any effective resistance. Their deaths were truly horrific. Blood, shattered organs, mangled limbs, and bloodied armor rained down from the sky.

In just a few moments, all three hundred-plus Griffin Knights were killed in action.

With the protection of the Griffin Knights gone, the steel airships naturally became the targets of the Abyssal Demon swarm’s collective assault. Although the mages and fixed turrets on the airships were doing their utmost to counterattack, their firepower was a mere drop in the bucket against such an overwhelming number of Abyssal Demons.

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To put it bluntly, it was not worth a damn.

Amidst a series of massive booms and the heart-wrenching screams of the pilots and mages, countless shots from Annihilation Cannons struck the steel airships. Under the relentless bombardment of the Annihilation Cannons, two steel airships disintegrated in mid-air, turning into countless flaming steel meteors that plummeted from the sky.

The flagship with slightly stronger defenses, named “Future” by Xue Tian’ao, emitted thick billows of black smoke as it rapidly fell, slamming violently into the scorched earth outside the city.

“Boom!!”

The moment the airship collided with the ground, flames erupted high into the air. The brilliant fire bloomed upon the earth, and the heavy scent of burning filled the world.

Though some pilots and mages were wise enough to parachute out in time and luckily avoided being caught in the explosion, once they lost the protection of the steel airships, they had to face the thousands of bloodthirsty beasts alone. When the Abyssal Demon swarm surrounded the survivors, they couldn’t help but regret their decision to parachute.

Compared to being swallowed alive by Abyssal Demons, perhaps being blown up directly would have been a more dignified way to die.

Unfortunately, they had lost the right to choose again.

Before these people could call for help or wail in pain, the Abyssal Demons swarmed over them, tearing them to pieces in an instant.

At this point, the forces Xue Tian’ao had sent out of the city to intercept the Abyssal Demon swarm were completely wiped out. Outside the city was a literal living hell.

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Gazing at the human tragedy displayed on the projection screen and looking at the wreckage of the warships billowing black smoke along with the mangled limbs and flesh scattered across the ground, the people were stunned. One must realize that these limbs had belonged to powerful Royal Knights just a few minutes ago.

The citizens, who had just been celebrating the victory of the Royal Knight Corps and shouting Xue Tian’ao’s name, suddenly fell silent. They stared fixedly at the images on the screen with disbelief. When they finally accepted the reality, the fear that had been suppressed with great difficulty surged back, easily seizing everyone’s hearts.

“Quick! Run!”

No one knew who shouted it, but the crowd in Dragondance Plaza rioted instantly, scrambling to flee outside the palace. The members of the Imperial Guard, who were supposed to maintain order, stood frozen in place after seeing their comrades die so easily under the claws and teeth of the Abyssal Demons, having no heart to stop the rioting crowd.

“Don’t… don’t panic!”

Looking at the crowd spinning out of control below, Xue Tian’ao tried to stop them and soothe the citizens once more.

However, this time, his comfort had no effect at all. No matter how much the new emperor shouted, the public’s panic did not diminish in the slightest. There were even many citizens who cast looks of hatred and deep suspicion at Xue Tian’ao as they fled past the high platform, for some of their relatives had also participated in the “counterattack” Xue Tian’ao had described.

Even if there was no hatred or suspicion, the eyes of the other citizens no longer held the initial worship and trust.

In this moment, Xue Tian’ao realized that after this crushing defeat, the public trust he had painstakingly cultivated for so long might have ceased to exist. Not only had he lost more than half of his most elite Royal Knight Corps, Imperial Guard, and Griffin Knight units, but he had also lost the hearts of the people.

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Losing the people’s support plus more than half of his elite forces meant that his control over the Snownight Empire would drop significantly.

Furthermore, in full view of everyone, he had previously claimed his army could easily defeat the Abyssal Demon swarm. And now, wasn’t this a direct slap to the face?

Feeling the strange looks the envoys of various factions were giving him, Xue Tian’ao clenched his fists in shame and rage, looking at the Abyssal Demon swarm on the projection screen with eyes full of intense hatred.

‘These damn beasts!’

However, as the saying goes, misfortunes never come singly.

Just as Xue Tian’ao was cursing internally, a black meteor carrying a powerful aura suddenly streaked across the sky, slamming aggressively into the city’s protective barrier as a suppressed wave of Shadow Essence abruptly spread out.

The alarms within the city sounded accordingly. Xue Tian’ao’s face changed again, becoming increasingly twisted and hideous.

“That… that aura? An Abyssal Demon? A demon king tier?!”

‘Damn it. Damn it all, another Abyssal Demon swarm? Another demon king tier?’

‘Is there no end to this?!’